#liu fails at shading

[restinslices]

hiiii :D

would it be okay for you to do bi-han, liu kang and kung lao x hypermobile reader if you're not too busy or anything?

like reader has alot of pain in the knees, back and gets frequent migraines and they try to help?

Hey bookie, I wasn’t ignoring you. I was just procrastinating 😭. Finally got to it though! When I looked it up a hypermobile person seemed like a double jointed person but with occasional aches but obviously there could be stuff I missed since I’m not hypermobile. Because of that I mainly focused on the things you brought up however if there’s certain things I missed, you can always request again.

Bi-Han

When it comes to your joints moving more than normal, I don't see him making a big deal about it 

I don't see him being like “omg that's so cool” but I also don't see him being like “that's freaky”

It's something he notices but doesn't point out

When it comes to pain he'll suggest stretching it out, which might do the opposite but it's what his brain conjures up first 

I just feel like stretching and trained assassins go hand in hand

He knows multiple stretches that focus on those areas and that's what he'd suggest first 

There’s also other physical activities like walking for your knees

His brain goes to physical things

If all else fails, he's a walking ice pack 

I don't think he'd necessarily want to be an ice pack but if I'm the wind under your wings, spit out a couple ice cubes for me 

As for migraines I am a firm believer that Bi-Han as the oldest brother is a mini medic

He'd assume your sick so he'd advise you to drink tea, eat soup and keep your eyes closed so they're not being strained while looking at something bright 

If you get migraines often he'd buy some thick ass curtains so the sun doesn't peek through 

He may be a lil asshole but I'm gonna stay delusional and believe he'd be a good partner 

He's a good man Savannah- 

Liu Kang

I also think he wouldn't make a big deal out of it 

He might comment on it but you'd be forgiven for thinking he forgot about it 

Idk how you could use this in fighting but if you could, all 3 of them are impressed 

When it comes to pain in the knees and back, he's the opposite of an ice pack 

His power might work better with aches and pains. Depends on your body

I doubt heating his hand up would be difficult for him 

He mostly wants you to rest and take warmth baths to soak your joints 

Him and Bi-Han are mini medics but Bi-Han is more of a physical therapist. Also sitting around is a problem for him. Liu Kang is more patient and understands that there’s nothing wrong with taking a break and letting yourself heal

He probably also knows a bunch more healing methods I don't 

He's been around the block for awhile. He knows how to do other things besides leave someone concussed 

Assuming you're a regular human, he knows how weak your body is (no tea no shade) and you really need to rest or you'll break down 

That's his thought process with migraines as well

Has you sleep a lot more since migraines can be eased with sleep 

He knows all the tricks in the book. You know when your parent is like “you have a headache? why don't you *insert the most old and outlandish bullshit*”? 

That's him 

You'd think he'd use all this worldly knowledge to oh, idk, build an empire or smth but no

Kung Lao

He wouldn't make a comment in a mean way but he would do a double take 

Maybe I'm wrong but I would imagine people don't go “hey! How are you? I'm hyper mobile btw” 

So when he sees a joint kinda move funny he's thinking “am I tweaking? I gotta be”

But then it happens again and he's like “aight, what the fuck was that?”

He asks a few more questions but that's kinda it. He won't ask your whole life story. If you wanna share more, then you will 

When it comes to pain you gotta thug that one out-

I'm joking… slightly 

Liu Kang is a demigod. Bi-Han is a human but got magic powers. Kung Lao is a normal person and only has a hat

And I don't wanna hear about the magic shit in his moves. In the game I'm pretty sure he only has that hat. The hat is cool and all but my point is, he can't magic any pain he feels away 

He knows better than anyone that sometimes you just gotta take the shit on the chin and try to go on about your day 

However, that wouldn't be his only solution 

Regular human who can't make his own ice packs means he's a regular human with tons of medicine 

Medicine he'd obviously share 

He'd even buy some specifically for joint pain and keep it on him for you 

Same with medicine for migraines 

He probably has way more of those so he can't carry all those bottles but he carries some in his pocket 

He actually has a phone so he's for sure looking up ways to help with any pain or discomfort 

Whatever comes up, he'll suggest to you or help you with 

Your pain won't go away the quickest with him but it's obvious he's trying his hardest 

I did not mean to give Kung Lao the most-

[bloopitynoot]

Reading SVSSS: Bonus- Chapter 23

For those who don't know, I am reading SVSSS for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag bloopitynoot reads SVSSS. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read.

I was home sick again today (I think I should be okay for tomorrow?? Depends on if my sinuses decide to cooperate or not tonight). So I got cozy with an apple and some coffee (I do not recommend the combo flavour wise - it is really not so good).

Let's get in to the succubi chapter!!!

I haven't even started this chapter yet and the title is already giving me fantasy porn energy; "Recalling an Experience of Fighting Succubi with Great Master Liu".

Oh! The last extra was a direct continuation, but now we are moving into the past- just after the abyss kick. p63

"After I take care of this support ticket- ah, I mean, after I take care of those succubi" p63. When you've worked in any IT or IT adjacent field

I also would not be surprised if there were a ton of fics ft Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge. "In truth, Shixiong's only looking out for you. The rumors at the foot of the mountain say these succubi adore beautiful men who are full of vigor, so if Liu-shidi insists on coming, they'll undoubtable target him." p64

You're honour. I think this man is gay or ace. Re: "Liu Qingge clearly had no intention of chatting with this member of the opposite sex; he showed no remorse for destroying the madam's gate as he turned his head away." p66

Liu Qingge is 100% just annoyed with the entire experience and SQQ is sitting over here wishing he had a snack and some tea while he witnesses the show that is the succubi attempting to crack his shidi p68

The longer this scene goes on, the more I do think that Liu Qingge is queer or on the ace spectrum. pp68-69

Shen Qingqiu over here feeling anxious for "some reason" about his romantic future (this man is so deep in the closet at this point). p69. It makes me laugh that anytime he talks about women in this book he's like "nope, cant, not her because [Insert Reason]" without fail.

You cannot tell me Liu Qingge is not some shade of queer. The way in which he leaned in for the T about SQQ's love life speaks to my soul on a spiritual level p70

The succubus was Stunned. RE: her seeing details about SQQ's Binghe. p71

The mental gymnastics SQQ is going through right now to convince himself that his future fated one is a woman is boggling. p71 He's really trying so hard

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL The moment Liu Qingge clocks who the succubus is talking about ahahahah p73

OMG this really isn't helping the case that Liu Qingge isn't gay/ace spectrum. The FURY when the succubus said he wasn't SQQ fated one so he shouldn't worry about it pp73-74

Oh My God. And the succubi have an aphrodisiac. Poor Liu Qingge (but my god I can see the fics already). p76

SQQ in this moment: . LQG: This poor sweet man. p77

Okay wait, might be the neurodivergence but I feel like I am missing some subtext here. What did Liu Qingge mean by "You asked me how I felt, didn't you?" asked Liu Qingge, "However you feel right now, that's how I felt" p80.

Another bonus chapter done!

This one was short and sweet, but I do love getting more insight into the lore of the book. I love it when we get to see new creatures or learn how the world works and this chapter was cool for that. I cannot wait for the next one though- I took a peak at the title and saw that it is in parts so here's to hoping the next one is longer!

[muninnhuginn]

just generally musing to myself what makes thematic and plot sense for the link clink ending after reading some other people's takes the past few days. no real conclusions here, just some thoughts tied together with a string.

I've seen arguments that what needs to happen is that Lu Guang needs to accept Cheng Xiaoshi's fate and move on without regrets. This idea that the past has to remain as-is and you have to move on is a thread that the show has played with quite a few times. It's written into the very rules underlying the dives. The most obvious instance being the earthquake arc, where Cheng Xiaoshi was unable to save Chen Xiao's mum, but he *was* able to deliver the messages and thereby help CX gain closure. It's laid out by Lu Guang that it *was* worth it to deliver the words, and Cheng Xiaoshi takes this conclusion with him when he confronts Emma. (Of course, the fact this lesson was given by *Lu Guang* casts a different shade over the whole affair. I don't think it can be entirely discarded, given LG even admits he's going against his own rules, but it reads more like something he's trying and failing to convince himself of.)

So, the past has to stay as it is. We see a few different approaches to this idea in s2 - of people refusing to move on and trying to change the past. Qian Jin wants to force his wife "not to cheat"; he wants to alter her behaviour because she didn't act as he wanted. Li Tianchen wanted to change how *he* acted back then, even if indirectly, because he sees himself as his mother's killer, and thinks this is the point at which his tragedy was locked into place. They both thought their 'tragedies' were down to a single event. It's not that simple.

Lu Guang wants to personally protect Cheng Xiaoshi by controlling all scenarios. Not exactly taking his will, but limiting his choices. There's probably a whole post to be made on how QJ/LTC/LG each approach the agency of the ones they want to protect, but that's not for now.

Anyway, Li Tianchen as the foil to Lu Guang. At the end of s2, he has in theory let go of Li Tianxi but in practice he's just burying himself deeper by following Liu Xiao. Trying to entirely shun the past so he can believe that he still has some element of control. Both LTC and LG are at the extreme ends of clinging on vs letting go and that means the correct answer has to lie somewhere in the middle. Not shunning the past, but accepting it, and using that resolve to move forward.

So, Liu Xiao. We don't have much on him but what we do have is his belief that uncertainties should become certainties. He's deterministic and set explicitly as the counter to Lu Guang, whose own aim is to change events rather than lock them into place. They both want to *control* all aspects, but for differing reasons. In fate vs free will, it makes sense that our protagonist is on the side of free will, but it's interesting that he's presented himself so much as the opposite previously. He and CXS haven't exactly switched places, but to the audience, they've definitely taken on traits of the other.

Liu Xiao's whole spiel about how all options will eventually lead to the same outcomes, with him set *against* Lu Guang, very much seems like it's a setup for a "defeat fate" type plotline though. It's hammered in that there is no escape, no other option. Are we expected to accept this? It doesn't seem so. It's something I'm struggling to reconcile somewhat with the earlier messages about accepting the past, but maybe that's not quite it. Maybe it's about control vs freedom?

Trust fall. Every dive with LG and CXS is an act of mutual trust where they need to act in tandem. Dives go astray when one party acts without the other. For CXS, this is about him acting against LG's instructions (texting Emma's parents, staying in the earthquake dive). For LG, this is about him withholding info because he doesn't trust how CXS will react.

Lu Guang needs to put his trust in CXS before his withholding of information creates an unresolvable rift. He needs to stop trying to control CXS in order to keep him safe. We saw how that spun out for Li Tianchen and Li Tianxi. LG needs to put the choice into Cheng Xiaoshi's hands and let him decide his own fate. It reminds me of how Cheng Xiaoshi laid everything out for Emma and let her decide whether to live. It was only outside interference that prevented her, but she did make the choice to survive. And she did it by remembering those small moments. By accepting that tragedy happens but there are still people that make it worth it.

For LG and CXS, they need to mutually trust each other and that's how they'll find their way through.

[luna-rainbow]

I was looking at some information on Captain America 4 because it sounds like they are doing an entire reshoot. I saw a preview for Sam's new suit for the movie. What are your thoughts on this? Because it feels like he barely wore the one that he got to wear in TFATWS. And that one was given to him by Wakanda and made from Vibranium. How can this new suit be preferable to that one? And I guess its now not a big deal that he got a suit from Wakanda?

Thanks for the ask!

The change of suit happened with Wanda as well when she went from TV to movie so I guess it happens with major budget upgrades. It does suck that vital character development points get undermined but, hey, this is the MCU we’re talking about.

As far as the new suit goes, I quite like it! I like that navy shade, the lines look more dynamic and I think overall the design is much more complimentary to Mackie’s body shape. Maybe they can say vibranium can change the suit’s paint job — after all, didn’t T’Challa’s suit hide in his beads? Surely changing the colours isn’t a big deal in a world like that 😂

I think the issues with the show were pretty evident as soon as it ended. The criticism about the “do better” speech was always there. There is a group of very vocal people who have a vested (ship war) interest in defending that show. From what I’ve seen, a good number of them are well aware of the flaws of the show (and have many of the exact same talking points) but if you are not one of them, you’re not allowed to talk about it. I don’t think these people have changed their stance on CA4 — in the sense that they were always concerned about Spellman bungling it, and they always disliked how little care was put into promoting Sam’s story, but god forbid if you’re not in their ship and talked about it. So in a way, I don't think the show isn't "ageing well"...because I think most people really haven't changed their original opinions. I'm sure there are some people out there who previously loved the show and now changed their mind because of Sabra, but I haven't seen a lot of comment from that corner on Tumblr at least...

I do think it’s ironic that CA4 is now being accused of Zionist agenda when the first criticism that came out was its anti-Semitic working title (New World Order). I have no idea what politics it will push — if any, because let’s face it, the main problem with TFATWS isn’t its centrism, it’s the lack of commitment to any ideology and its protagonist-centric morality — but what this whole saga tells me is that the publicity team for CA4 is either incompetent or woefully understaffed. I don’t think I’ve heard anyone come out to try and salvage the publicity debacles. The optics of Sabra is going to be very tricky given the current climate, and I don’t see Spellman being a writer who can handle the subtlety (or bravery?) to make her work.

I remember Simu Liu allegedly said to Marvel execs that "we (POC) are not an experiment" -- but honestly, this is what CA4 is feeling like. Sam the Black Cap is experimental and they're cutting corners on many parts of this production. They don't care that he fails - so they are setting him up to fail, which would then justify them pulling the plug early so they can go back to investing in safe favourites.

[cuephrase]

I cannot keep two words straight in my head smh. I meant the first wip and the third wip. No abandonment meant (though I would not be opposed to hearing about that one too 😅)

asjdfhjsd no worries haha!!

first wip/jigsaw: so although i personally enjoy jason being an anti-hero/being on (sort of?) better terms with the batfam i really like am so frustrated bummed that we don't really get to see how jason got there. however, i also think his current dynamic with the fam is very interesting bc idk, to me, it feels very delicate/fragile and like there's not a whole lot of trust? idk how to summarize all the nuance without giving you an essay you did not ask for, but basically, his current relationship with them is Complicated, yeah?

and i don't have a lot of interest in writing a fix-it/exploring a 'what if things had gone differently' scenario/trying to fill in that missing gap bc...idk. i just don't lmao. BUT!! a reconciliation fic still sounds like so much fun, bc like i like the idea of jason being part of the batfam right but like i don't want to erase all the drama from canon so BASICALLY-

tl;dr: i think jason's current relationship with the batfam is like a bone that broke but wasn't set properly so it needs to be re-broken to heal properly. so i want to start in a place where he's "comfortable" with them, then have him blow everything up. just stomp on all the eggshells. it would very much so be a Things Get Worse Before They Get Better type of reconciliation fic haha. i want it be messy and painful and full of missteps and misunderstandings- it would not be an 'X apologizes and magically everything is better' fic. (which is not shade to anyone who writes/enjoys those!!) i may also challenge myself to stick strictly in jason's pov to really lean into the Unreliable Narrator of it all.

this probably sounds like such a mess, omg *buries face in hands*

pretty bird: this one is a super dick-centric, kinda character study type fic somewhat focused on his sexual trauma, so mirage/catalina/liu, but also just kind of like exploring dick's relationship with himself and like...how he perceives himself? bc he is such a Performer, yk, and he is incredible at it. and he has all these close, meaningful relationships, but sometimes he can still feel so isolated to me in a way bc of how much he keeps to himself and idk i just really want to like get into his head.

also can't really articulate this one without an essay you didn't ask for haha, but it will be a very fun tonal challenge for myself bc i have a very specific vibe i want to achieve that'll require a very careful balancing act.

and then just for funsies, and bc it's also about dick haha,

abandonment: au (inspired by dan mora's black and white oneshot from batman: the brave and the bold) where bruce puts dick into foster care instead of keeping him, but they cross paths later when batman runs into dick and jason who are looking for their missing brother. at least a smidge of identity porn bc dick is willing to trust batman but won't trust bruce wayne. like i have this scene in my mind where batman offers to set the boys up with his friend bruce wayne and dick is like 'absolutely not' and batman is like ?? and then he realizes omg this is the kid i gave up omg.

just imagine dick trying to independently (with jason) try to hunt tim down with batman being like !!!! trying to assist but also not wanting to overstep and also trying not to get too attached (and failing) hehehe. complicated dick and bruce is just so fun, yk?

tysm for the ask, lily, (and for tagging me in this game to begin with!!), i hope you're having/had a beautiful day!!

[dalekofchaos]

Context

Outworld Civil War

This one is obvious. It's a major plot point in the arcade endings and is heavily mentioned in Khaos Reigns. For this story to work, I would add Jade, Motaro, Sheeva and Kotal as playable characters(they were mentioned in the story that Raiden defeated them) and Skarlet in Kombat Pack 3.

The story goes that the war has reached a breaking point. General Shao and Reiko get desperate. They find and unleash Onaga. Thus forcing the Outworld royal family on the run. They regroup in Earthrealm and band together a counter attack to reclaim Outworld and reimprison Onaga or an alternate fate. Liu Kang was watching during the events of KR and taught Tanya how to truly tame Onaga and bring peace to the realm.

Order Supreme

In Havik and Rain's endings, they flood the realm of Seido and in one of Havik and Mileena's intro's, Havik orders Hotaru to be brought to him and Mileena states "Seidan refugees will not be returned."

So my pitch is Havik and his followers invade Outworld trying to get back the refugees of the flood, they are the elite, Generals, Politicians, the Rich who could afford to escape the Flood.

Hotaru in the New Era is the leader of Seido. He runs the oppressive regime Havik opposes. He helps Liu Kang maintain order of the realms by any means necessary and learning that Fire God Liu Kang himself put Hotaru in charge drove Havik’s ire. Hotaru being absent from MK1’s narrative is a creative failure. Like, they could’ve painted a shade of grey on Liu’s character by having him recruit Hotaru to help maintain order in his timeline. The fact that there is no Chaos Realm just tells me Liu Kang just forced Hotaru and Havik to co-exist and that led to potentially Hotaru enforcing oppressive Order by any means necessary while Havik becomes an anarchist.

Once again, I fail to see why Ed and NRS refused to use Hotaru. You have Havik, the embodiment of chaos and Hotaru, personification of Order, both in an authoritarian sense and a strong sense of justice and you don’t fucking think to include him??? Havik is chaos personified. Hotaru is the worst aspects of Order. He can go from saving you, liberating villages and setting up a fucking police state and NRS STILL does not see the potential in Hotaru? Okay, sorry rant over.

All of Havik's scars is because of Hotaru. On his order the seidan guard did this to him and was turned into the pariah and anarchist he is today.

Now? Hotaru is powerless, a refugee and holds no titles. But sees opportunity. He gets into the royal family's good graces. Says he and the remains of the Seidan guard will help them against General Shao and Onaga's onslaught. All he asks is a position in her council and complete control of the military and police of Outworld. Mileena has no choice, she accepts.

Eventually the heroes has to stop Hotaru because his vibes are complete absolute and authoritarian. and when he is defeated and removed from power. That's when Havik appears.

Havik has a chance to take revenge against Hotaru and Hotaru has the chance to avenge Seido. You get to choose between Havik and Hotaru.

Havik wins, he kills Hotaru, tears his eyes, and crushes his head into a bloody mess. But he loses his mind completely. He loses his purpose in life and pledges to spread chaos throughout the realms. Chaos is all he has left.

Hotaru wins. He completely melts his face. Havik is dead. Hotaru pledges to restore Seido to his former glory and spread order throughout the realms, whether they like it or not.

Age of the Dragon King.

Reiko’s ending becomes canon in an act of desperation to defeat Seido’s onslaught. Onaga is free. But unlike in the Shao and Reiko’s endings, Onaga is not a mindless beast, Onaga has a mind of his own and he will take back what’s his. Outworld. The Kamidogu and all the realms to unite as one and become the One Being.

Fall of Titans.

Liu Kang learns the hard way of messing with time and becoming a titan. Several titans throughout the timelines and even the Titans from Shang Tsung's MK11 Arcade ending invades his New Era.

In the end. Liu Kang and Geras decide to reverse timelines, go back to the old MK9-11 era and forever lockaway the Hourglass with Geras there to protect the hourglass and prevent anyone from messing with time and forever put an end to this multiverse nonsense.

Liu Kang returns as champion of Earthrealm and has the ending with Kitana he always wanted.

And most importantly? Kuai Liang is Sub-Zero and Hanzo is Scorpion HAHAHA FUCK YOU DOMINIC!

DLC characters:Kombat kids

War of Dragons and Special Forces.

The Red and Black Dragons are introduced. They are at war. Newly introduced Sonya, Stryker and Jax are introduced, Takeda pulls in Kenshi and Johnny Cage to end the fighting before it brings complete chaos to Earthrealm. It ends with both dragon gangs being captured and the Outer World Investigation Agency being founded with a tease of Cageblade.

Kano, Mavado, Sonya, Stryker and Jax can now be made into playable characters,

DLC characters:Kabal, Kira/Kobra, and Daegon

[vi0letcolor3dbug]

Just starting my acc by posting things about my MK1 ocs (mostly fankids) because I'm bored lmao

Sorry if the writing isn't good, english is actually my second language lol

☆Tamayo Takahashi☆

Daughter of Kenshi and Suchin Takahashi.

Completely human, but she needs to deal with a japanese god (Tsukuyomi, the god of moon) controling a part of her mind.

The fact that she's partially controlled by Tsukuyomi is due of a failed attempt of bringing her mother (Suchin) back from the dead.

Japanese with Taiwanese heritage.

Closeted sapphic, asexual.

Her color pallete are different shades of pink and purple, black, white and silver.

Uses a pair of katanas( that has embroided moon details on it) as her weapons.

Tami is an asian theater actress.

She's normally known as "Tsukuyomi's honored theater actress".

Has a gloomy and sleepy personality, due to the fun-fact that she has insomnia.

Will often be seen sleeping or training.

Probably a daddy's girl in disguise.

Has a huge crush on Jacqui Briggs, but she'll never say it out loud.

She wears a porcelain mask, which is used as a form of expression by Tamayo.

Her animality would probably be a kitsune.

Her inspirations are Yun Jin (Genshin Impact), Shinobu (Demon Slayer), Mei and Ikki (Dislyte), Kiyomi (Monster High).

☆Zagzaghal☆

Son of Reptile (Syzoth) and Ashrah.

A clone with a porcelain-puppet body, made by titan magic, using his parents' DNA.

His porcelain body was sculpted by the monks, the one who used titan magic and his parents' DNA to turn Zagzaghal into a living being was actually titan Kitana.

Half-Zatteran and Half-Netherrealmer.

Oriented aroace, gender-queer.

His color pallete are different shades of green and red, golden, white and black.

Uses a pair of roller-skaters as weapons (The blades on it are actually kriss blades).

Empress Mileena's second emissary.

Normally known as the "Porcelain-doll boy".

Has a friendly and anxious personality.

Will be often seen skating around with his roller skaters, or painting.

He's DEFINITELY a mommy's boy.

Has a platonic crush on Liu Xiāng.

Uses rectangular red glasses, due his vision was damaged on the day of his birth.

His animality is probably a gecko or a frog.

His inspirations are: Kinich and Alhaitham (Genshin Impact), Bayonetta (Bayonetta), Feng Xun and Amir (Dislyte).

☆Liu Xiāng☆

Daughter of Liu Kang and titan Kitana.

Half-human, titan and edenian.

Probably the oldest of the trio (Haven't decided an age for them lmao).

Has chinese heritage from her father.

Pansexual, trans-feminine.

Her color pallete are different shades of purple and blue, white and metal-rose details.

Uses an umbrella/parasol as a weapon.

The honorary monk of Wu Shi academy.

Known as: "The eyes whose are watching".

Has a calm and cool-headed personality.

Will often be seen on her garden.

Spoiled by both of her parents.

Doesn't have a crush on anyone (yet 👀).

The various flowers that are tied onto her braid (Which are purple, red and blue) represents her and her parents.

Her animality would be a swan.

Her inspirations are: Shenhe and Raiden Ei (Genshin Impact), Parasoul (Skullgirls), Heng Yue and Xuan Pin (Dislyte).

[lizhly-writes]

#Oh this is all soooo intriguing#I wanna *grabby hands*#But#If I *have* to choose#In honor of sqh my beloved failing upwards except for the decades or so he's failing both upwards and downwards at the same time#I do wanna see how No. 5 goes

@mytoomanybookstoread yo.

> scenario has been selected.

> loading scenario: "trial run of an impossible story"...

so it's like this. a disciple who should not be there cheats disciple A, disciple A begs a favor from disciple B, disciple B uses disciple A as a pawn against disciple C, disciple C seeks aid from hallmaster D, and this butterfly effect continues on and on until, somehow, we're left with an ding peak lord wrangling a deal from bai zhan peak lord, leading to a joint mission: an ding caravan is accompanied by an escort of bai zhan cultivators.

you: are liu qingge. or, well, you're not liu qingge yet. you're not head disciple, so you've got some other name.

whoever you are, you're having a shitty time.

you are the youngest and best fighter in your cohort of bai zhan disciples, which is great in theory, because it makes you the best candidate for head disciple, but also means that your shixiongs don't really like you. your shixiongs do their best to make your life hell. being on a mission won't stop them; your shixiongs would love if you fuck up. you suspect vaguely that your shixiongs will make you fuck up.

obviously the reasonable thing to do here is to beat them up, except you can't actually do that without ruining the point of sending multiple bai zhan disciples on this mission to begin with. your next option is to stay away from them, except staying away from them means staying away from the an ding disciples, ruining the point of sending you on this mission. this then leaves you with dubious option three: sticking very closely to the an ding disciples, which doesn't really get you away from your shixiongs, but if you're that close, there's only so much they can do to you without hitting the an ding disciples as well.

this is not a great deterrent, but it's better than you being an easy target all by yourself, so you follow the an ding disciples and stick by the only one you can reliably remember. it's easy, you just have to look for the person with the lightest shade of hair in the crowd. you don't actually remember his name or face, but you don't remember anybody's name or face, so this is situation normal.

you: are shang qinghua. or you will be, at any rate. it's not like you have any other choice. your path has always been "become shang qinghua or die trying".

you're stuck with liu-fucking-qingge.

like you weren't certain at first??? it's not like liu qingge is this guy's name right now! but that beautiful face! that artfully-sculpted expression! that aura that says he'll beat down a hundred men without trying! if this was any random npc, you'll eat your own hat! you might do it anyway, because an ding rations for outer disciples are shit, but still!

you don't know what he wants from you! he must want something, because he's looming ominously over you -- consistently looming ominously over you, instead of occasionally looming over any of your shidis or shixiongs -- but what is it? it's a total mystery! maybe he wants to beat you up? but this is liu qingge, right? righteous and honorable and not into beating up random an ding disciples, unless maybe they can give him an epic fight, which, haha, you definitely can't. you're pretty sure he can tell you can't.

well, either way, all of this ominous looming is real fucking awkward. like there's so much ominous looming before you can take before it stops being ominous and starts being just weirdly quiet. so you talk. not about anything in particular, just something to fill this weird empty space of non-interaction. when it comes to making an impression of yourself, you can only sometimes hit likable, but you can, 100%, do annoying, no problem!

this has the predictable effect of making his brows furrow, but you're starting to think you're actually only sometimes hitting annoying with this guy, because he's not backing off. are you actually entertaining him right now? not that you're surprised, sometimes you're very entertaining! but. hmmm. people don't normally listen to you this long. your family certainly never did. what's up with this liu qingge..?

you: are liu qingge. in a normal situation, you probably would have stopped listening and walked off by now. you have better things to do than listen to some an ding disciple ramble, like training. but you are bound to this mission and the fact that your shixiongs are circling around you, and you're not so thin-skinned that you can't handle one conversation where your conversation partner isn't even insulting you, so. you stay.

unknown an ding cultivator is twitchy and nervous and you're pretty sure he doesn't like you, but he doesn't seem to have a great opinion of bai zhan either, because he then manages to work up an insulting rant about one or two of your shixiongs. he doesn't know their names -- not that this would help you, because you don't know their names either -- but he's descriptive enough that you're almost certain you know exactly who he's talking about.

which is pretty great, actually, because yes, you absolutely did want to know about how bai zhan shixiong 3 had been so busy insulting him that unknown an ding disciple hadn't been able to get in a word edgewise, like "look out, shixiong! that giant vat of medical grade lube is about to spill on you!"

you remember shixiong 3. you hate shixiong 3.

this an ding disciple isn't too bad.

you: are shang qinghua. you have somehow found the cheat codes of navigating a conversation with liu qingge, which is telling unflattering stories about other bai zhan disciples, which you didn't really expect, but hey! everybody's got to hate somebody! so you keep talking, and not-yet liu qingge actually cracks a smile at you. it's unnecessarily beautiful. why did you make this side character so beautiful. it's going to be so sad when he dies.

whatever!! not your problem!! that's a problem for the future! right now, things are going great!

unless.

you: are mobei-jun. if you survive long enough to earn -jun, haha! ah, your odds of this aren't very good, you know?

you are severely injured. how did you get that way? it doesn't matter, it only matters that you are, and there's only so much of your power that you can muster before unconsciousness will claim you.

there is a caravan of cultivators coming your way.

if you had been at full strength, there would be no reason to worry about them. they would fall before your feet with little effort. but you are not at full strength; you don't even have the energy to perform the indignity of running away.

you cannot run. you cannot hide.

the only option you have is to fight. kill them all -- they're all threats to you until they're dead. a full caravan has you severely outnumbered, but if you are quick enough and brutal enough, you may succeed.

if you had only been facing an ding, it is almost a certainty you will succeed. an ding is not known for martial prowess. but you are not facing only an ding. there is an escort of bai zhan cultivators here, for the sole purpose of making sure their fellow sectmates are safe.

can you make it out of this alive?

> branch-off point has appeared.

> calculating... please wait...

#I'd be soooo down to see more svsss rarepairs #I've enjoyed what few sqh/mbj/lqg fics there are

@mytoomanybookstoread! hi! welcome to round 1 of 'liz gets totally sidetracked and sinks into something entirely different from what she should be writing!' congratulations, you've triggered a random encounter! you throw something at me, and i throw you poorly thought out plot points!

so my first thought was that i would like to have lqg and sqh meet mbj at the exact same time. i originally thought that when sqh travels along with his fellow an ding disciples in that trade caravan, there are also a couple bai zhan disciples there to escort them.

and then i thought, oh, this is a terrible idea, because lqg and his unnamed upperclassmen/underclassmen are just going to slaughter the shit out of an injured and disadvantaged mbj. goodbye, chances of lqg/mbj/sqh.

well, we are now at a branching point. you might as well pick one of these, huh?

1. this is an impossible story. let's not even try. reroll for a better set of starting circumstances?

2. success! (persuasion check passed!)

3. success! (persuasion check failed! deception check passed!)

4. failure (all checks failed. this is an impossible story. dead end.)

5. ...failure? (all checks failed. but... are you sure this is an impossible story?)

[jaembby]

just a little bit

Pairing: Liu Yangyang x reader

Genre: Fluff? Slightly suggestive

Word count: 1.1k 

Warnings: Kun being a c0ckblock, suggestive

Requested: yes. requested by @nctvroomts. Thank you for requesting this!! It’s my first request so lmk if you like it or what I can improve on!!! ily <3

part 2: here

----------

“Liu Yangyang!! Be quiet!“, you said in a hushed voice as you put your hand around yangyang’s mouth to shut him up. 

Yangyang, aka your best friend who apparently doesn’t know how to be quiet, suggested that the two of you should spy on his roommate, Kun. Unfortunately, Yangyang had hit his elbow on a piece of furniture and let out a rather loud whine. Even more unfortunate, Kun had heard. The older quickly turned his neck in your direction at the sudden invasion of his privacy.

“Who’s there?”, Kun had questioned as you quickly pulled your best friend behind the wall and your eyes connected. Yangyang has beautiful eyes. How have you never noticed before? You could stare at those eyes for hours on end if he’d let you. His smile was also stunning. How could someone be so beautiful? To top it off, your best friend had the most amazing personality and gave the best hugs. The two of you would tell each other anything and everything that went on in your lives. Fights were a very rare occurrence and are always small and unimportant. Yangyang was always there for you, tangling his limbs with yours in warming cuddles until the two of you would fall asleep to the sound of the other’s heartbeat. He was there for you during your first heartbreak, reminding you constantly of how amazing, talented and beautiful you are. He never failed to send good morning and good night texts when the two of you are apart and would always make sure you were his first priority. You slowly find yourself thinking about what it’d be like if he was your boyfriend. He was extremely attractive, talented and perfect for you. Your friends have shipped the two of you together multiple times but you would always laugh it off and shake your head at the silly thought. Maybe dating the Yangyang wouldn’t be such a silly idea, after all.

“Ummmm... y/n? We may have a slight problem.” The boy in question’s voice snaps you out of your thoughts as you feel heat rise to your cheeks. You look over to Yangyang, immediately spotting the “problem”.

“I swear to God. Yangyang, y/n, you have three seconds to run.” Kun states coldly, clearly unimpressed after the two of you disrupted his peace.

“Three.”

You look between the two boys, unsure of what to do.

“Two.”

You and Yangyang make eye contact, panicking.

“One.” 

You grab the younger boy’s hand and the two of you run to the nearest room and lock yourselves inside before you push Yangyang against the door to prevent Kun from opening it. You stay like that for a few moments before looking up at your best friend, only to see his cheeks a deep shade of crimson at your close proximity.

There’s a glint of mischief and something that you can’t quite work out in Yangyang’s eyes. He quickly looks down to your lips then draws his eyes back up to yours before placing a gentle hand on your cheek and wrapping the other around your waist. Suddenly, he leans in so that your lips are only inches apart now.

“Y/n... can I?” He asks as you sheepishly nod, looking your best friend in the eyes. Yangyang doesn’t wait for a second longer before placing his soft, plump lips to yours. It’s heavenly. He’s heavenly. He tastes like brownies and mint toothpaste, you notice. Yangyang slightly tugs your bottom lip between your teeth, asking for permission to deepen the kiss. 

You agree, opening your mouth slightly as his tongue explores you before fighting for dominance with your own. He slowly guides the two of you to the bed where he lightly pushes you down, breaking the kiss for air before sitting atop you and reuniting your needy mouths. Your hands go up to his hair, playing with his soft locks while he bruises your lips before breaking the kiss. You whine at the loss of contact but quickly gasp in pleasure when he starts sucking on your neck. He moans quietly when you massage his head, encouraging you to keep playing with his hair. You do, and he moans again into your neck, the vibrations feeling amazing.

Yangyang pulls away and places a gentle kiss to the deep red mark he’s just created on your exposed flesh before reconnecting your lips with his own as you let out a moan of pleasure.

“Baby, be louder, your sounds are beautiful.” He instructs, rubbing your cheek lovingly as you let out another moan, louder this time.

“That’s it, love, be loud for me.”

A knock at the door interrupts your make-out session and the both of you quickly pull away, blushing messes. 

“Who’s there?” Yangyang calls, annoyed at the interruption.

“Me.” The voice of Kun replies, slightly disturbed.

“Dinner’s ready so come and eat. Also if you two break anything, you pay for it.” Kun says and quickly walks away, not wanting to hear what the two of you get up to next.

You and Yangyang blush but let out a laugh as you realize what Kun meant by “break anything”. His laugh is music to your ears. His smile makes your entire day and his eyes sparkle brighter than all of the stars in the sky.

“Yangyang... I have to tell you something.” You say, not meeting his eyes as you take a breath to calm your nerves. He hums, allowing you to continue.

“I kinda maybe sorta... Imightmaybeloveyoujustalittlebit.” You manage to spit out quickly, the butterflies in your stomach now turning into flocks of birds.

“I didn’t quite catch that... what’d you say?” Yangyang asks, an amused smile on his masculine features.

“I might love you... just a little bit.” You say, cheeks reddening as you suddenly find the floor very interesting.

“Well, I might love you too... just a little bit.” He says back before lifting up your chin and bringing you into a gentle loving kiss before pulling away, smiling brighter than you’ve ever seen. The butterflies have gone now and you’re filled with pure happiness, feeling complete.

“I guess we should go and have dinner then.” You say, fixing your hair and collar, failing to hide the hickey that the boy in front of you had made on your neck just minutes before.

“Don’t hide it, baby, let them all know you’re mine,” Yangyang says, fixing his hair too. Your cheeks darken in colour slightly at this but you fix your collar nonetheless, leaving the deep red mark out for everyone in the dorms to see as you head down to the kitchen, hand in hand.

[delicioussshame]

Too long for tumblr, too bad to be posted by itself on AO3, have this ABO future AU where LBH and SY never got together.

There is always something bittersweet about Shizun visiting.

Luo Binghe loves having him here. He loves that Shizun obviously feels comfortable enough around him that he doesn’t mind being in the demon realm, away from allies and friends.

He hates knowing that no matter how pleasant their time together was, Shen Qingqiu will eventually leave to return to his bamboo house.

He tries to put that last thought out of his mind and just enjoy his shizun’s company.

It’s just that there is something else going on today. Something that is incommoding Shizun. He keeps twitching as if he can’t sit still. His skin has a pinker shade than usual. His gaze sometimes lingers on Luo Binghe in a way that is very hard to ignore.

Luo Binghe does all he can to do so anyway. Why raise his hopes up at this point?

When his usually graceful shizun manages to send a cup rolling, spilling tea over the table, Luo Binghe cannot blind himself anymore. “Shizun isn’t feeling well today. Is there anything this disciple can do to help?” He can’t help the eager tilt in his voice. He wants to help Shen Qingqiu so badly. He still wants Shen Qingqiu to smile at him kindly and pet his head gently, praising him for being good, the way he used to do when Luo Binghe was still a child.

Shen Qingqiu stumbles. He flushes, embarrassed. “This isn’t something Binghe should bother himself with. It will pass. It’s just unexpected. I should have remained home today.”

That’s strange? What condition could he be talking about? “What is Shizun suffering from?”

Shen Qingqiu sighs. “Well, Binghe is more than old enough to know. He probably figured it out already, didn’t he? He must have experience dealing with this with others.”

Luo Binghe stays silent. He has no idea what his shizun is talking about, but he’s not going to tell him that. He doesn’t want to appear stupid in front of Shen Qingqiu.

“Your master is an omega. I am currently feeling the first symptoms of an unprompted heat. I was already here when I first felt it, so I thought it would be rude of me to leave without seeing you, but it’s been more distracting than I would have expected.”

Luo Binghe tries not to white out at this unexpected knowledge. “Shizun doesn’t smell like it.”

Shen Qingqiu waves it away. “I’ve always hidden my natural scent. Easier to live without attracting attention that way.”

“I see.”

Shen Qingqiu rises. “Since Binghe understands, I will take my leave.”

“Where is Shizun going!? He should be careful! His condition makes him vulnerable!” If someone were to cross paths with his shizun so impaired and decided to take advantage… He couldn’t stand it.

“Back to my peak. As I said, this is unexpected, so I have no other arrangements. It will just pass. I’ll be fine.”

“Qing Jing Peak is much too far! Shizun should remain here. I can make sure he’ll be comfortable and undisturbed, if that’s what he prefers.” It will be a trial like no other, having Shen Qingqiu so close, knowing his body is begging for an alpha’s touch, but it will be better than having him on the road, pretending to be unaffected and failing miserably.

Shen Qingqiu shakes his head. “I couldn’t inconvenience Binghe so.”

“It would be no bother! The palace has personnel used to providing adequate care for omega guests.”

“Binghe, it’s not a good idea.”

“Why not? Shizun would be safe and taken care of.” Luo Binghe isn’t letting him go, and that’s final.

He can’t make himself do so.

“Binghe, are you really going to make me say this?”

Now, Luo Binghe is confused. His master had just admitted he was going into heat? What could he find more embarrassing than this? “Shizun can tell me anything. I wouldn’t tell a soul.” He would also make sure anyone witness to his shizun’s secrets wouldn’t be able to betray them.

Shen Qingqiu rubs his temples. “You’re not the child I raised anymore. You must have more self-awareness than this.”

Self-awareness? “I don’t know what Shizun is talking about.”

Luo Binghe recognises that the gruffness in Shen Qingqiu’s voice is a mask to hide deep embarrassment. “I can’t be around an alpha of Binghe’s calibre when I’m like this. I’ll shame myself.”

It takes all of his energy to keep himself in control. Too much enthusiasm and he’ll scare Shizun away. “Is Shizun implying he thinks he would proposition me?”

Shen Qingqiu’s lack of composure gives him away. “Binghe!”

Keep yourself in check. Don’t scare him. Don’t act like this is a favorite fantasy of yours you’ve been entertaining since you were thirteen and found out you were an alpha. “If Shizun prefers not to be alone, I would be honored to be his companion.”

Luo Binghe knows that Shen Qingqiu isn’t quite in his right mind. That the way he’s responding to his overture doesn’t mean anything in the long term.

But here, in this moment, Shen Qingqiu cannot deny he wants Luo Binghe. It’s written all over him, from the heat on his face to the tightening of his fingers on his robes.

Luo Binghe charges on. “If Shizun would allow me to, I would love nothing more than making sure that everything goes perfectly for him, in all aspects.” Luo Binghe reaches for his shizun, holding his delicate, warm, trembling hand in his. “I will take him to his room, where he can safely wait for the right time to come. Meanwhile, I will discreetly arrange for all he might need, and only when this is done will I join him.” His fingers tighten their hold on him. “As an alpha, I promise I will fulfill all his needs and desires.”

Luo Binghe cannot tell if his teacher’s scent is fluctuating under the influence of his words, but he’s almost certain Shen Qingqiu can smell his own attraction. He will know Luo Binghe is honest.

“Binghe… I cannot compare to the ladies you usually spend time with.”

Luo Binghe has no idea what ladies he’s referring to. “Shizun has nothing to be ashamed of.” Luo Binghe could easily sing Shen Qingqiu’s praises for hours, but he knows he would scare him away.

“Are you certain? Binghe shouldn’t feel obligated. I can wait it out.”

Shizun, in what world would bedding you be an obligation? No one on this earth would think so. “I’m certain.”

“Then, I will be in your care.” There is a hint of hesitation still in his voice.

Luo Binghe will make sure none remains by the end. “I won’t disappoint.”

____________

Luo Binghe visits Lin Lian himself.

She isn’t startled by his sudden, unannounced appearance. She is known for taking everything in stride, which is one of the reasons why she is so good at her job. “Junshang.”

“Shizun is going into heat. Everything needs to be perfect.”

She doesn’t even flinch, never mind asking why beta Shen Qingqiu was going into heat.

Then again, Luo Binghe now suspects he probably employs a few hidden omegas himself.

“Alone?”

“No. I’ll mind him.” Luo Binghe might have banned any mention of Resentment of Chunshan from his palace, but he doesn’t expect his servants not to be aware of it. She won’t need more than this.

While Lin Lian is officially just another senior servant, she is the one in charge of omega affairs. Be it making sure schedules allow for planned heats, providing supplies for inconvenienced guests, or keeping alphas at bay where they’re unwanted, Lin Lian was the one handling it all. She, more than anyone in the palace, would know what to do.

She nods. “A sudden heat?”

Luo Binghe acquiesces.

“It won’t last long then. They show up fast and pass just as quickly. When did he start feeling it?”

“A few hours ago.”

“He’s almost there, then. No time for ample preparation. I suppose you won’t let my people in the room?”

Luo Binghe answers that question with a growl that menaces to turn into a roar at any second. No one will be allowed near Shizun in this state. Not even another omega.

“If it lasts only a few hours, you won’t have to do much. If it’s longer, please make sure he eats and drinks a bit. His heat will be hard on him. Even a cultivator should feed to replenish themselves. We keep food that is both easily eaten and kept for this kind of occasion.”

Luo Binghe hates that he won’t be able to cook for Shizun himself. The feast he’d planned isn’t appropriate for the current situation.

Later, then.

“You might also wish to bathe him, and change the sheets as he soaks. Omegas expect alphas to tend to their physical needs. Anything more can come at a pleasant surprise.”

Luo Binghe bets Shen Qingqiu won’t be surprised. He had taken care of such tasks for his shizun for years, when they were still sharing a roof.

Unless his “other arrangements” weren’t as attentive. Luo Binghe hadn’t missed that sentence. Who did Shen Qingqiu turn to in his time of need, if not Luo Binghe himself? Liu Qingge? Yue Qingyuan? Someone else, unknown to Luo Binghe?

Whoever they were, they won’t have him now.

If he treats Shen Qingqiu as lovingly as he should be treated, maybe he’ll never turn to them again. While it isn’t what he wanted, calling Shen Qingqiu his omega every time his nature overwhelms him is much better than what he has now.

He gathers everything Lin Lian prepares for him, carrying food and sheets carefully via hidden passageways. The less people knew of the situation, the better. If Shen Qingqiu’s long-kept secret was exposed because of Luo Binghe’s carelessness, Shizun might not forgive him.

As soon as he opens the door to his shizun’s room, he is hit by what he assumes must be his teacher’s natural scent, so strong Luo Binghe finds himself following its call mindlessly until he reaches Shen Qingqiu, lying on his bed only in thin white inner robes glued to his skin.

Luo Binghe unceremoniously dumps everything on a nearby table, too distracted by the spectacle of his shizun flushed and panting to care about anything else. “Shizun?”

Shen Qingqiu lifts foggy eyes toward him. “Binghe…”

Shizun is calling for him. What could he do but answer? Luo Binghe climbs on the bed, throwing off jewelry and pieces of clothing as he approaches.

He freezes just as he’s about to touch. Will he really do this? Can he really, finally press his lips to Shen Qingqiu, discover the taste of his skin and the sound of his moans? Worse, will he become intimately familiar with his scent as it crescendos? Shen Qingqiu said the heat was unplanned; is there a chance their union will bear fruits?

He has to ask. “Shizun, is this really all right? Will you permit your Binghe to cherish you as you should always be cherished?”

Even through the fog of heat, Luo Binghe can tell the blush is born out of embarrassment, not desire. “Binghe! Don’t talk! Just… do what you have to do.”

It’s as much permission as his beloved will ever give. “As Shizun wishes, then.”

At least Shen Qingqiu is too out of it to notice Luo Binghe’s own nerves as he finally kisses him for the first time.

But not the last.

____________

Luo Binghe wants this to never end.

Shen Qingqiu is nestled on his chest, still exhausted from their activities. He smells different now that the heavy pull of his heat has lifted. Bamboo and orchids on a rainy day, perhaps.

Luo Binghe had been a bit reluctant to bathe him, once the heat had broken and Shen Qingqiu was close to sleep, but he was familiar enough with his shizun’s temperament to know that he would much prefer to wake up clean than still covered in sweat and semen. And what Shen Qingqiu wanted, Shen Qingqiu got.

He doesn’t quite regret it. Fresh sheets and clean skin meant that Shen Qingqiu had no incentive to wake up, instead curling up against Luo Binghe to keep awareness at bay.

It is paradise on earth, holding Shen Qingqiu such. Petting his soft hair as he wishes. Feeling his slow, steady breath on his chest. Hearing the contented beat of his heart.

Of course, all good things must come to an end. Shen Qingqiu starts to move, obviously fighting off sleep.

Finally, he blinks cloudy eyes at Luo Binghe. “Binghe…?”

Luo Binghe refuses to flinch. Instead, he tightens the arm thrown oh so carelessly across his shizun’s side. “Shizun. Did you sleep well?” Because if he didn’t, Luo Binghe will happily hold him to sleep again.

Instead of flustering, as Luo Binghe expected, Shen Qingqiu snuggles a bit closer. “Yes, but I’m not ready to rise yet.”

Ah. As far as Luo Binghe knows, it is not unheard of for omegas just over their heat to still feel bonded to their alpha, demanding closeness and comfort when they would usually demure. “We can remain here as long as Shizun wants.” His heat was too short for him to need food right now. He’ll be hungry, but that can wait.

(This has nothing to do with Luo Binghe’s desire to feed Shen Qingqiu proper food instead of aging snacks made without love or care.)

Shen Qingqiu lets out a sigh that is almost a giggle. “Binghe doesn’t have better things to do?”

Nothing could be more important than this. “They can wait.”

Shen Qingqiu… tuts? “Aren’t you the ruler of this realm? Do you push your responsibilities aside anytime you help an omega in need?”

“Why does Shizun think I do this regularly? I would only favor someone worthy so.”

At this, Shen Qingqiu does fluster. “Surely I am not ‘someone worthy’?”

Luo Binghe scuffs. “Who could be worthier than my shizun?”

Shen Qingqiu does laugh then, a light, airy thing that rings into Luo Binghe’s ears. “What a diligent disciple Binghe is, willing to take care of his shizun even in this.”

There are no circumstances where Luo Binghe wouldn’t be willing to take care of Shen Qingqiu.

But if he tells him this, he will run. Luo Binghe knows. He remembers too many of his attempts failing as Shen Qingqiu remembered something urgent he had to do, or a person he had to meet, whenever his disciple tried to express his less-than-platonic interest.

It has finally been long enough that Shen Qingqiu has managed to make himself forget. Luo Binghe cannot risk his teacher avoiding him again by being too forward.

He can, however, offer exactly this. “This disciple is indeed diligent enough that he would gladly care for his shizun again, when his proper heat arrives.”

Shen Qingqiu looks up at him from where he’s still resting against his heart. “Really? This master is grateful for his disciple’s help, but he doesn’t have to force himself by sleeping with an old man.”

This is painful. “Shizun can believe me when I say nothing about last night was me forcing himself. Or are his memories so hazy that he does not remember my enjoyment?” Because Luo Binghe would certainly not mind reminding him of it with actions instead of words.

He gets a light slap on his side. “An alpha enjoys any omega in heat. I know it’s not personal.”

Luo Binghe has to bite his lips not to cry in dismay. If anything, any alpha would enjoy Shizun no matter what the circumstance were. “It was personal for me.”

He sees it instantly. A tightening of Shen Qingqiu’s expression; his body sliding off Luo Binghe’s as Shen Qingqiu apparently decides he has had enough of lazing around. “Binghe is being ridiculous. This master is nothing special.”

He can’t let this stand. “I apologise if I offended Shizun, but he has to know I care for him deeply. He cannot consider himself as just another stranger I take to bed. His well-being is important to me.”

As he expected, his emphasis on Shen Qingqiu’s well-being, an expression of platonic concern instead of romantic interest, soothes some of Shen Qingqiu’s nerves. “Binghe is really too good a pupil. I don’t deserve him.”

Luo Binghe suddenly wonders if those words might be more than a rote phrase. “Shizun deserves the world. I’m nothing compared to it.”

Another light slap. “Really, ridiculous.” He finally lifts off the bed, looking for his robes, almost unmindful of his easy, effortlessly seductive nudity. “I’m hungry. Does Binghe know if it’s time for dinner?” He finds the abandoned snacks. “He brought food! Binghe really did a good job.”

“Shizun, no! I will go make Shizun a proper dinner. He shouldn’t spoil his appetite with these. Who knows who made them. They might be bad for him!”

Shen Qingqiu puts the bun down. “Binghe didn’t make these? I’ll wait then.”

Luo Binghe trained his teacher so well. “Does Shizun have preferences? I’ll cook whatever he wishes.”

Shen Qingqiu shakes his head. “Anything Binghe makes is delicious.”

If Shen Qingqiu decided to stay, Luo Binghe would prepare his every meal and relish doing so, as he used to do so long ago.  

Alas, Shen Qingqiu won’t. Instead, he will return to Qing Jing Peak and teach Luo Binghe’s shidi.

Luo Binghe can’t even blame him. Others deserve to have the same chance he got.

In the meantime, Luo Binghe will make his stay as sweet as possible.

Maybe if he does well, Shen Qingqiu will tell him when his regular heat is expected.

If he does really well, he will return here for it.

It’s a start.

[alexsfictionaddiction]

Review: The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

I was instantly intrigued by this book, as soon as I heard about the premise and read the synopsis. So, I was delighted when I was approved for it on NetGalley and was highly anticipating seeing this story play out.

Frida Liu seems to be failing in all areas of her life. Her career isn’t quite what her Chinese parents wanted for her. Her ex-husband Gust has taken up with a beautiful, young mistress. Just when she thinks that her daughter Harriet is all that she has left, Frida drops that ball too. The world is watching parents like Frida and now it’s down to the government to determine whether she and other neglectful mothers are capable of reform. If they can learn to be good mothers, they’ll regain access to their children. If they fail to meet the standards, they’ll lose contact completely.

Frida has a lot in common with the majority of working mothers. She is tired, distracted, stressed but spending time with Harriet is still a top priority. It’s easy to see how one bad day, full of all of these things, could lead to a mistake. It’s also easy to see how this mistake could have catastrophic consequences. I held out hope that someone would give Frida the benefit of the doubt but it quickly became apparent that she was destined for severe judgement and shame.

The school is designed to change ‘bad’ parents on all levels. They’re taught how to raise and care for a child via ultra sophisticated robotic dolls that resemble their own children. Ironically, there probably are some first time parents, who wish they’d had some kind of formal training, but I’m sure none of them would appreciate the rigid structure and harsh treatment at this facility. I was scared for the wellbeing of the mothers and I had no idea how far the process could send them until devastating events occurred. It’s truly chilling and the pace was perfect, which meant that I kept turning the pages to find out everyone’s fates.

Frida has a lot of regrets about her past decisions and even about the woman that she has become. She has a lot of guilt around desire and her craving to be desired, which she no doubt got from her upbringing. She is desperate for Harriet not to inherit her dependence on romantic love and sex in order to feel whole and happy, which in my eyes is a sign that she’d be an excellent mother. However, the watchful eyes on her will only see her behaviour, not her real thoughts on that behaviour.

The mothers are taught that in order to be a ‘good mother’, a woman must be solely focused on her child. She can’t be distracted by factors such as men, a career or dreams for the future beyond what is best for her children. Of course, modern women simply can’t naturally fit into this mould and the effects of being forced into it seem inevitable. 

The School For Good Mothers is a unique, eye-opening and incredibly riveting dystopian thriller. The final chapter had my heart in my mouth and I finished it with a strange mixture of nerves and hope. Thought-provoking and heartbreaking with terrifying shades of our own world, The School For Good Mothers is a book that you will struggle to put down.

[iffeelscouldkill]

The Strange Case of the Iris Express

[ID: A picture of a tan train car door with the text "The Strange Case of the" in the window, "Iris Express" on a white band of metal below the window, and "enchantedsleeper" on a plate of metal in the center of the image. All of the text is in all caps, dark brown serif, except for "enchantedsleeper," which is edited to look like it is embossed onto the metal plate. The door is very dirty. /end ID]

Summary: Violet Liu, a scientist working for industrial corporation Republico, is travelling on a brand new steam train called the Iris Express when she finds herself sharing a carriage with Kay Grisham - a young woman who says she grew up in the same small town as Violet. But as things start to go wrong with the train, Violet realises that the journey, and Kay, might not be what they had seemed.

Length: 11,583 words

Relationships: Violet Liu/Arkady Patel, Alvy Connors & Brian Jeeter

Read it on AO3!

A/N: Here is my fic for the TSCOSI Season Two Hiatus mini-bang, @tscosi-minibang! I am stoked to have worked with two brilliant artists AGAIN for this fic, @demonic-kitkats (whose fantastic artwork you can check out here) and @caedogeist-rights​​, who has made a podfic! of my fic!! which you can listen to on AO3! Ae also made the wonderful title card you see above 😍

Innumerable thanks are also due to Ehlana, whose tireless beta work made this fic so much better than it would have otherwise been.

Detailed content warnings and the full fic can be found on AO3, but read on for a small taster!

The brand new steam train was state of the art, or so her supervisor at Republico had told her – a fact that did very little to calm Violet’s nerves as she walked along the gleaming length of the Iris Express looking for an empty carriage. Or, failing that, a less-crowded one.

You might think that the presence of other passengers would have been reassuring, but as she took in the idling, hissing locomotive, Violet could feel the edges of a nervous attack tugging at her, threatening to drag her down, and if that happened she’d prefer to have as few people around to witness it as possible. Especially men making ‘helpful’ comments about female hysteria.

Finally, she drew level with the last carriage – the farthest away from the engine – and was relieved to find it mostly empty, with only a group of elderly women seated in a corner, talking quietly. Taking a last deep breath of dusty air, Violet boarded the Iris Express, gathering up her skirts so that they wouldn’t catch in the doorway. She made her way to the far corner and sat down, placing the leather case the company had entrusted to her on the seat beside her.

They had ten minutes until the train was due to depart. With any luck, no-one else would be getting into the carriage before then. Violet turned her head to look out of the window and tried not to think about the upcoming departure.

Get a grip on yourself, Violet, she thought sternly. Dozens of people have travelled by steam train without any problems. The corporation’s top engineers designed this and certified its safety. What are you afraid is going to happen?

“Hi!” a cheerful voice broke into her thoughts, and Violet did not almost jump out of her skin. She looked up to see a woman of around her age beaming down at her. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb your thoughts – I just wondered if you’d mind some company?”

Violet stared inarticulately at her for a few moments, thrown (and wondering what was wrong with the numerous other empty seats in the carriage), before her manners kicked in. “No – no, please have a seat.”

The woman’s face relaxed into a smaller, almost relieved smile as she sat down across from Violet. She had kind eyes, Violet thought. She was tall, her skin a few shades darker than Violet’s, her dark hair braided and wound into a knot at the back of her head.

“Kay Grisham,” the woman introduced herself.

“Violet Liu,” Violet said.

“So, what brings you aboard the Iris Express, Violet?” asked Kay.

Violet was about to reply when a loud whistle from outside made her jump again and clutch at her seat. The train was getting ready to depart.

“First time on a steam train?” Kay asked knowingly as the train began to slowly move away from the station, thick clouds of smoke obscuring the view outside the window.

“Is it that obvious?” Violet asked, aiming for self-deprecating humour. Her voice only shook slightly, and Kay was gracious enough not to comment on it.

“I know the feeling,” she said. The train was now picking up speed, the whole carriage rattling as it moved over uneven joins in the track, and Violet focused on taking deep, even breaths. Hearing Kay’s voice actually helped – there was something calming about it. Maybe having company wasn’t so bad after all. “I doubt a steam train would come within ten miles of the town where I grew up – it was tiny. More of a village, really.”

Violet smiled. “I was born somewhere like that,” she said. “You either knew everyone else who lived there, or you knew someone who knew them. It was… a little confining, but cosy at the same time. Not a bad place to grow up.”

Kay laughed. “That sounds like Harmony Creek,” she said, and Violet froze.

“What do you mean?” she asked. “Have you been there?”

Kay frowned slightly. “Harmony Creek? Yeah, that’s – where I grew up. Well, nearby anyway. My father had a general store on the outskirts of town, Grisham’s.”

“But… I grew up in Harmony Creek,” Violet said slowly. “We’re from the same town?” Her head was reeling slightly at the incredible coincidence – that hundreds of miles from her former home, she could have met someone who grew up in the same small, insular community. And yet – she couldn’t remember ever hearing about the Grisham family, or a general store on the edge of town. Could she? She racked her brains.

A broad grin was spreading across Kay’s face. “I thought your name was familiar!” she exclaimed. “Violet Liu – do you have a younger sister? Juniper?”

Violet’s eyes widened. “That’s right – we’re several years apart in age. Six years to be precise.”

Kay nodded like this had confirmed what she’d expected. “I have younger siblings, too – I think my brother and your sister used to play together. Jack Grisham?”

“Jack…” Violet tried to remember the names of any of Juniper’s playmates, but couldn’t. She’d been at the age where she was far too self-interested to pay attention to what her little sister had been doing, except when Juniper tried to play with any of her toys. “Sorry,” she said, embarrassed. “Clearly my memory is worse than I thought. You must think I’m so rude, not remembering you or your family.”

“No, no,” Kay rushed to reassure her. “It was more than a decade ago – it would be ridiculous to expect you to remember. My family did keep to ourselves – we weren’t heavily involved in town life, aside from the store.”

She paused, and then said with a bashful hesitancy, “I did see you around town once or twice and – think that I might like to talk to you. Ask you for a drink, even. But I never had the courage. Maybe if I had, I’d have been more memorable.”

Violet stared at her, aware that she was blushing fiercely. “W-well – it’s never too late,” she said. “Maybe after we get to the end of this hellish journey, we could… get a drink together.”

Kay looked surprised, and then favoured her with another delighted smile. “I’d like that,” she said. “Is it still a “hellish” journey, then?”

“I—” Violet stopped, and realised that it had been several minutes since she’d even thought about the fact that she was on a train – and the anxiousness that had been pressing against the back of her throat had faded significantly. “I’ve realised there are… some definite upsides to it.”

Read more 1800s gay flirting on AO3

[youareunbearable]

Catch me not having a clue who any of these gods(?) and people are, but still sitting here like, "I ship that pretty one with the gruff one, and that brown haired one with the other(?) gruff one?" without knowing names or what this is except the fanart I see you reblog, because this fandom apparently has lots of nice art

Fam i have no idea what ur talking about or when u sent this im so sorry asfkjhfkjhf but i thiiiinnnkkkk??????? it’s “Heavens Official Blessing” or  Tiān Guān Cì Fú (TGCF for tagging stuff) its originally a chinese gay novel that is soooooooo long by the author  Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (MXTX) who wrote 2 (two?????) other novels that I know of that are also gay historical fantasy but i personally havent actually read TGCF???? im just watching the anime and looking at the wiki and reading fanfics so i have a vague idea whats going on but not really???? so i cant really give a good review BUT i LOVE THE CHARACTERS MXTX WRITES SO MUCH AFHAFKFHKFAKF IM SO SORRY IM SHIT WITH TAGGING SO U HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IM HYPER FIXATING ON BUT

LISTEN

LISTEN 

LISTEN

Pretty one and the gruff one im THINKING is He Xuan (or Ming Yi/ Ming-Xiong/Ming Bro) for the grumpy one and Shi Qingxuan for the pretty one and both are kinda gender fluid?? (more Shi Qingxuan but they both change their forms to be both women and men which is Iconic and the anime put her in the TRANS FLAG COLOUR instead of her canon white and green which is ICONIC) AND THHEYRE SO TRAGIC AND HOT AND I CRY JUST THINKING ABOUT THEIR STORY LIKE AFHDFKJAFDSGS like i want to kinda read the book just for them, the two super minor characters, but i also read somewhere that their story doesn’t really have a clean ending so im also holding back from just getting Emotionally Hurt because im a cancer and i know it’ll wreck me

I think The Two Gruff Idiots are Feng Xin (dark haired gruff boy) and Mu Qing (brown haired gruff boy) and theyre both martial gods and both knew each other for over 800 years and both tried to take care of Actual Human And Heavenly Disaster Xie Lian, failed, and tried to do it again 800 years later but with stupid glasses with moustaches in hopes that Xie Lian cant figure out that they care about him but OOPS Xie Lian does in fact have the braincell of the three of them fajfafjajf 

Heres the link to watch the anime, there are 11 eps rn but it updates every weekend (I dont actually know when but i watch it on sundays) Make sure u have ur ad block on tho lol there is a manga too and the art style is TO DIE FOR like its GORGEOUS but its roughly at the same pace as the anime so eh

Heres where to read the whole thing online, just a warning its BIG AS FUCK like 244? plus extras I think?? 

I’d also recommend MXTX’s other books!

Mo Dao Zu Shi (or Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/ The Untamed/MDZS) is both a Book as well as an Anime (the whole thing is on youtube) , a Live Action which you can watch on Netflix (look up Untamed, also a warning, the plot is a little different from the book and anime cause of uhhh censorship?? also i guess to make it more live drama friendly, my friends an i binged it and really liked it, but some of the fandom doesn’t), a manga which is not finished I think???? idk im not caught up, and a fucking chinese AUDIO DRAMA LIKE BITCH ITS SO WELL DONE but i have to stop listening sometimes cause like there is a difference between watching/reading characters kiss, and then like just hearing them, i get so embarrassed i have to skip the kissing scenes and god forbid i accidentally click on the smutty extras alfjajlfjalfjaljf u can find it on youtube, i linked the one i listen to but i havent finished it and i don’t think it’s all of it, but you can find other episodes/chapters easily

Its about 1 Dumb Yet So Smart gay/bi man (Wei Wuxian) who honestly tries his fucking best, fucks up everything, dies for over a decade, and then is forcefully brought back to life to solve a murder mystery with the guy who has been in Super Gay Love with him since they were teens (Lan Zhan), a bunch of teens Who Are Just Honestly Here For A Good Time And Yet (Lan Juniors, Jin Ling, and Best Boy Ouyang Zizhen ) while badly hiding his real identity from all the people he knows, including his foster brother (Jiang Cheng) who is out for blood and hunting his ass down with a whip and also Lan Zhan who is travelling with him. Also the Killer. There is a killer on the loose and is willing to murder whoever to keep their secrets. Also Nie Huaisang. I adore him and his brother Nie Mingjue, if there is one bitch u gotta remember from this summary it’s this little twink (he and his brother also have a fucking spin off movie from the live action drama THAT I HAVENT BEEN ABLE TO FIND A ENGLISH SUB VERSION AND ITS BEEN KILLING ME SINCE I STARTED WATCHING THIS SHOW LAST YEAR. GOOGLE GIVE ME MY FAVOURITE TWINK AND HIS BEAR OF A BROTHER HAVING A FUN FAMILY ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!)

My Personal Current Favourite is Scum Villain’s Self Saving System (SVSSS) which is SOOOOOOO FUNNY Like it’s not as popular cause the comic was discontinued, and the anime looks like its from 2005 with the weird 3D animation but its my current comfort media!!! 

Its basically about a spite reading millennial (Shen Yuan) who died after reading a REALLY awful popular cheesy smut harem novel (think like 50 shade series but worse cause the protag had 600 wives) and was forced into the body of a minor but important villain (the protagonist’s teacher, Shen Qingqiu) from the novel who was fated to die with all his limbs cut off and his eyes and tongue plucked out and is told he has to fix the story so its not trash, he reasonably freaks the fuck out and hugs the protagonists (Luo Binghe) thigh so hard he turns him gay without realizing. Sadly, he does have to make sure certain plot points happen, which fucks him over a lot,  and he thinks Luo Binghe still wants to kill him instead of love him cause he has the Emotional Intelligence of a Rock, but its so funny reading about him handling all the awful tropey stuff, like imagine u have to be a character in My Immortal But With Porn?????? without breaking out of character too much?? I wouldn’t be able to handle it ajhakfkfhjfj He also finds out that he’s not the only transmigrator in the novel either, but it doesn’t matter cause theyre both So Fucking Stupid Collectively but everyone would honestly die for the both of them

warning for this story though, the main relationship is a teacher/student relationship, but nothing happens until the student is in his 20s and also kinda not his student anymore cause he’s running hell??? but if that squicks u out i totally understand and offer you to PLEASE still enjoy some of this media, and instead of the BingQiu ship, I offer you the LiuQiu one, where both me and the main character cry over how a beautiful man/fellow immortal lord loves the main character so much that he literally fought every day for 5 years to be by his side and I Think Thats Beautiful and I kinda like this ship more than the main one tbh PLEASE just look at the art for Liu Qingge because i love him so much, he’s like if you took Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng from MDZS and mashed them into one beautiful man the author is trying to tell me is straight but u take one look at him And Tell Me Otherwise

[thebiscuiteternal]

“Once More, Again” Gen, Reincarnation, Yunmeng Reconciliation, Fluff and Angst, Creepy Frogs, Promises of Cats

__________

The night hunt wasn't supposed to be a big deal at all. A flock of possessed birds had scared a caravan of travelers away from their camps. A simple cleanup job, one that didn't really even need him.

Then one of his disciples comes running up in a barely concealed panic.

"Jiang-zongzhu, we have a... problem."

Coiling up Zidian to return her to her ring shape, Jiang Cheng scowls at the man. "What kind of problem? Is there another flock?"

"Ah- no... it's..."

A loud wail breaks through the trees, the source easily pinpointed as the small, dirty girl one another disciple is gently trying to shush as she guides the child into the clearing.

"That's our problem," the first disciple says, scratching the back of his head. "We found her in what was left of the camp, but none of the caravan members claim her."

"No one at all?"

"They say they have no idea who she is. She doesn't feel like she's connected to the birds, but-"

Scowl deepening, he goes to the child and crouches down. Surprisingly, she stops crying the moment she's aware of his presence. Scrubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands, she raises her head to stare at him.

He involuntarily sucks in a sharp breath.

The shape of her jaw and nose, the tilt of her brow, the spatter of freckles across her nose and cheeks, those are all different, but looking into bright silver eyes, he knows- he knows it can't be anyone else.

Sniffling quietly, Jiang Yanli reaches for the hem of his sleeve and clutches tight.

Little Meilin has been fed and bathed and safely ensconced in a veritable nest of blankets in the guest room closest to his own before he feels like he can breathe again.

Asleep and smiling, her hair shining from the oil one of the aunties had put in it, she looks like she has been living in Lotus Pier her whole life.

Or like she never left.

He closes his eyes and lets his head fall back against the wall.

No. No that's not fair.

He won't make her live in someone else's shadow. Even if she carries the same soul, she is Meilin, not Jiang Yanli and must be treated as such.

He briefly considers not telling Wei Wuxian. Wouldn't this fall squarely into that "past life" bullshit of his?

He sighs. Again, no.

Maybe it's a sign of weakness on his part, but he summons up a butterfly messenger. With a short succinct "A-jie reincarnated and is staying in Lotus Pier," he sends it off. He will contact Jin Ling properly in the morning.

---

"This better not be a trick, Jiang Cheng. That'd be low even for you."

Jiang Cheng freezes like he's been stabbed. He stares at the other man, looking for any sign of one of his usual bad taste jokes, but Wei Wuxian is pale and disheveled and angry and... oh. He really does think Jiang Cheng would lie about this to lure him back to Lotus Pier. After everything, he still...

He can't muster up any anger for this. He just feels tired all of a sudden, all the way into the marrow of his bones, and he doesn't want to be here anymore. "Liu Jiao will show you to her rooms," he says dully as he motions one of the maids who has been helping with Meilin forwards. Then he turns and leaves without waiting to see what kind of reaction Wei Wuxian has to that.

He's fleeing and he knows they can tell and he can't bring himself to care.

He tries to throw himself into work as a distraction, but quickly finds he can't concentrate for shit. After his fourth failed attempt at penning the necessary letter to Jin Ling, he decides he might as well give up.

Pointedly avoiding both Meilin's room and the area where he'd left Wei Wuxian and his ever-glowering husband, he heads out to one of the lesser-used piers. Workers gathering the autumn flowers wave in greeting, but thankfully give him space, and he settles in to watch and hopefully not do too much thinking.

---

It's nearly sunset and he's starting to doze a little when the pounding of tiny feet against the planks of the pier startle him fully awake. A giggling squeal of "Cheng-ge!" is all the warning he gets before his lap is suddenly full of squirming child.

"Cheng-ge? Who's Cheng-ge? Are we so familiar, now?" he chides with no actual bite at all as he flicks a button nose and her grin only gets even bigger. "Someone's been teaching you cheek, A-Lin."

"Can't possibly imagine anyone who would dare."

The flinch is entirely involuntary and he tries to smooth it over, but little fingers dig into his robe and he sees worry flicker over those bright eyes.

"Cheng-ge?"

"It's nothing," he says, patting her hair, then braces himself and looks up. It catches him off guard again to find Wei Wuxian watching him with a look of regret... maybe even apology.

"Mind if I sit?"

"Whether I say yes or no, you will anyway, so I might as well say yes." He'd intended it to come out sharp, the retaliation that he hadn't been able to manage earlier, but has much less heat and much more resignation than intended. Maybe it's because of that change that Wei Wuxian actually hesitates.

"If you want me to go-"

Leaning out of his lap, but refusing to get up or let go of his robes, A-Lin reaches out and tugs on Wei Wuxian's trousers in a clear demand.

Well... Maybe some things don't change, he thinks, rueful smile mirrored on his former shixiong's face as the latter obeys and kneels down beside them.

They sit in awkward silence, bound together by tiny hands holding a vice grip their clothing, until croaking songs begin ringing out from near the water and A-Lin perks up.

"Frogs! Cheng-ge, Xian-ge, can I catch one?"

He expects Wei Wuxian to automatically take over and say yes, but when he turns his head, the other man is just... watching him again.

He shakes it off and taps A-Lin on the forehead. "Boots off and let me tie up your skirts. If you get too muddy, the maids will throw you in a bath before they'll let you have dinner."

The girl wrinkles her nose, then nods and begins wrestling off her left. Practice born from another very squirmy child lets him work easily around her efforts, and she is shortly running off, laughter ringing behind her.

"You're... good with kids."

He scowls at Wei Wuxian. "That would be more of a compliment if you didn't sound so surprised," he says flatly.

"Ah." Wei Wuxian has the barest grace to look embarrassed, turning his gaze to the planks under him as he scratches his cheek. "Well... when I first met Jin Ling, he was such a brat, and then when I thought of who raised him-"

"Seriously not helping your case."

"Ugh, would you let me finish? Anyway, it turned out he was a good kid under all the thorn brambles. Which, again, considering who raised him-"

He really doesn't have the mental fortitude for this right now, he decides. Biting the inside of his cheek, he starts to get up, but a hand gripping his wrist stops him. "Wei Wu-"

"Please."

He squeezes his eyes shut.

Then he sits back down.

The hand on his wrist doesn't let go, and when he forces his eyes back open, Wei Wuxian is staring at that point of contact between them, thumb brushing absently against one of the tendons in an old familiar gesture. "When I got your message, I almost passed out," he finally says. "I was so afraid to let myself believe it. I thought I couldn't possibly be lucky enough for it to be true. I know I don't deserve for it to be true. I convinced myself you had to be lying, because somehow that actually hurt less than the possibility she was really here."

Jiang Cheng swallows back the pain that swells in his chest. His mouth tastes bitter. "Still not helping your case," he mutters.

But he still doesn't pull himself free.

Wei Wuxian laughs, the sound small and pained. "I know, I know."

"I did what you wanted," Jiang Cheng snaps, unable to stop himself. "This whole year, I-"

"I know." The grip on his wrist tightens and Wei Wuxian inhales shakily. "You did nothing to deserve it and I thought the worst of you anyway. I'm sorry."

He doesn't know how to respond to that, but he's saved from having to figure it out when a tiny figure stumbles along the docks, soaking wet and clutching one of the biggest lake frogs he's ever seen, short of a frog demon. "Did you fall in?" he asks, getting up again. "You look like a drowned-"

"He knocked me over! Look how fat he is!"

Big shiny eyes blink at him from the nest of her arms, then the creature makes a croak that makes the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

Maybe it is a frog demon.

A baby one, or something.

Wei Wuxian looks similarly nonplussed when he joins them, eyeing the frog with clear discomfort. "Eh... meimei, maybe you should let that one hop on home, yeah?"

"Aw, but he likes me!"

It does indeed seem to be very comfortable with being cuddled, which doesn't improve his opinion of it one bit. "We'll let someone look it over while you're In your bath," he says, subtly elbowing Wei Wuxian when it looks like the other might argue.

Fortunately, the other man catches on and nods. "Have to make sure he's nice and healthy."

"Okaaayyy."

---

"This is the creepiest thing I've ever seen."

Jiang Cheng can't argue with that, especially since the frog he's now definitely sure is some kind of demon is becoming creepier by the moment. Already, Wei Wuxian' prodding has caused it to turn from brown to a vague shade of greenish-purple and belch smoke.

When it opens a third eye, Lan Wangji has apparently had enough. "It should be exterminated," he says, starting to draw Bichen.

The frog hisses.

Hisses, showing off rows and rows of very un-frog-like fangs.

"Oh, fu-"

---

"Where is QiaoQiao?"

"You named it-"

"Escaped," Lan Wangji cuts in before Wei Wuxian can finish boggling at the choice.

"Yes, it escaped," Jiang Cheng says, mentally refusing to acknowledge that they agreed on the excuse. A-Lin pouts, and he gently ruffles her still-damp hair. "You can chase frogs any time you like, you know."

"But QiaoQiao was special."

That's... one way of putting it, he thinks as he tries not to shudder. "Why don't we find you something else special? What other animals do you like?"

"Hmnh... I like cats?"

"We can do cats. We'll find you the best cat," Wei Wuxian says, clearly relieved to hear no mention of dogs or more frogs.

Jiang Cheng allows it.

A loud rumble, far too loud for the tiny body that makes it, cuts into the conversation, and A-Lin hugs his sleeve to hide her face going bright red. "'m hungry," she mumbles into the cloth sheepishly, and he can't help the smile that tugs at his mouth as he crouches to scoop her up onto his hip.

"I think we're all hungry. Let's go see what the kitchens have in store for us tonight, hm?"

---

Having already seen A-Lin eat once already, Jiang Cheng takes more than a small amount of enjoyment in watching Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji openly stare as she inhales a fifth meat bun without chewing or coming up for air.

"What are you, a snake yao?" Wei Wuxian asks when he remembers how to work his jaw.

She puffs her cheeks at Wei Wuxian in an adorably offended huff. "I said I was hungry."

"No shi- kidding," Wei Wuxian quickly amends when Jiang Cheng glares. Then he grins. "How do you feel about spicier food?"

"You are not corrupting her with your chili oil addiction."

"It's not an addiction-"

"I wanna try. Can I try?"

His first instinct is to say absolutely not. But two pairs of eyes are giving him the soulful pleading look, and he sighs and fights the urge to roll his own. "Fine. But only a little," he says, picking up the bottle himself because Wei Wuxian wouldn't recognize the concept of "a little" if it bit him in the ass. "Chew this time."

"Well?" Wei Wuxian asks as she swallows the bite.

"It's okay."

He resolutely does not smirk at his former shixiong's crestfallen expression.

"Only okay?"

"Hot is good, but smoky is better," A-Lin pronounces with all the gravitas of a trained food expert, and both Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian can't help grinning at that.

"Everyone's a critic," Wei Wuxian says as he elbows his husband, who has a sleeve over his mouth in a clear attempt to pretend he's not been charmed as well.

Jiang Cheng is absolutely not smug about that.

---

"So, what are you going to do?"

Dessert is long gone, Lan Wangji has retired to bed, and the three of them are left sitting in the main hall, A-Lin clinging to his robes with honey-sticky fingers as she sleeps.

"We'll put out word, but unless someone comes to claim her, she'll stay here." Wei Wuxian continues to stare at him with that inscrutable expression, and he finally sighs. "I'm not going to turn her into A-jie. Past lives should stay in the past, remember?"

Wei Wuxian flinches and looks away.

Good.

The silence stretches long again, then his former shixiong huffs quietly. "I don't..." he starts, then licks his lips nervously and changes whatever tack he was about to take. "How are you planning on raising her, then?"

He gently pets long hair, and A-Lin responds by burrowing against his chest and shoving her face against his collar. "To figure herself out. If she wants to cook, if she wants to cultivate... hell, if she wants to make a living catching frogs, that's up to her. She's already put in her duty to this family."

"Good. That... That's good."

Still petting soft, fine hair, Jiang Cheng considers his next words carefully. "Until she's old enough to travel easily, you know she's going to demand visits from her Xian-ge."

Wei Wuxian stiffens and his head snaps up. "And... you... You're okay with that?" he asks, a faint glimmer of something akin to hope in his expression.

"At least until you deliver that cat you promised," Jiang Cheng says dryly. "I'm holding you to that. In writing, if I have to."

"You would," Wei Wuxian replies, rolling his eyes, but there is no missing the relief in his posture.

Nor the loss of tension in the room.

[nctzendreamz]

Mission Failed — Liu YangYang

You and YangYang are terrible spies, but maybe today, it’s a good thing you failed.

Genre: Fluff + a dash of Smut :)

Request: “I thought of a scenario where s/o would be best friends with yangyang (but they both liked each other), one day they was in the dorm spying on kun and he ended up seeing you and to run from you guys locked yourself in your room, s /o pushed yangyang on door so that kun can’t open yangyang ended up being embarrassed for being so close to you, face to face. you can do it smut or fluff, whatever for me, love your writing 💚💚💚”

“Y/N, you’re missing great blackmail material. Hurry.” YangYang speaks in English. He’s whispering, but still, he can’t let his victim know he was being spied on. A language switch was obviously the best option to avoid being caught. His slim body hides behind the other side of the dorm wall. He is as still as a mouse.

You approach the scene smoothly. YangYang doesn’t like that.

He didn’t have to use his words to tell you that he did not at all appreciate your lack of effort in this mission. His beautiful, deep and brown eyes say everything. You can hear his cute voice asking you now, “Are you my partner in crime or not?”

And with your eyes, you answer back. “Yes YangYang.” You add an eye roll as well, but you’re not upset. You actually love tormenting the unknowing man on the couch more than YangYang. The two of you were constantly poking at him. So much, that you think it made him love you guys more.

You hand YangYang the dollar shades you purchased for your spying events on the magic man himself, Kun.

“What is he even doing?” You whisper.

“Something juicy, it seems.”

Kun is in an interesting position. He lays on his stomach, and his ankles are crossed over in the air like a school girl with a crush on the star quarterback. You can see by the way his cheekbones seem to be slightly fluffed that he’s smiling. His cheeks we’re definitely a beaming red. He got flustered so easily.

“We need to move.” Yang Yang says. He immediately drops to the marble floors in their dorm. You don’t want to do this part, as you know it’s not clean, but anything for YangYang, so you’re right behind him as he crawls like a really non-flexible spider.

You two are both on the end of the couch, still unknown to Kun. This definitely means he was talking to someone who made him feel good.

“Maybe we shouldn’t.” You mouth.

“Don’t be so understanding.” Yang smiles at you, quickly tickling your chin. He always loved the sweet side of you. He hated to be the one that turned you into something so evil, but it needed to be done. Someone had to put up with his mischief.

“No, no,” Kun flutters. “I’ll make sure everything is perfect, and I’ll pick you up. All you have to do is wait for me.”

You and YangYang both barf at the same time.

“We can’t continue to listen to this.” Yang cringes. “Not in our territory.”

You are still too disgusted to speak on what you just heard. God, were you this jealous that you couldn’t be happy for someone being in (potential) love? I mean, you know you weren’t overjoyed that the boy you loved most seemed to only see you as a bro, but this wasn’t you? You should be over the disgust by now.

“What?” Yang speaks. He always knows when your mind is running.

“Nothing.” You mouth.

He squints at you. “Tell me what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” You repeat.

“Don’t lie to me. You’ve been doing that way too much recently.”

“Doing what?”

“Blanking out when we’re together. Actually, anytime you see or hear anything love relayed you look like you want to throw up.

“Why are you observing me so hard? Hm?” You question with a head tilt.

The two of you were so busy focusing on your bickering, you didn’t notice how silent the room had become.

“Are you not my bestfriend?” Yang questions back.

“Yup. That’s exactly what I am. Nothing more.”

“Why did you say it like that?”

“Why are you two hiding behind the couch!” Kun yells, interrupting whatever moment you and Yang Yang were just having. It scared the living hell out of both of you, and you knew you only had one option.

Run.

“You little brats!” He yells as he chases behind you through their spacious living space. Poor Ten practically gets crashed into the wall with all the commotion. All he was trying to do was put his bowl in the sink.

“What the hell!” He screams.

You truthfully don’t even have to look at the leader to know he has some time of weapon in his hand. The remote. A twizzler Lucas left in the couch. Something.

You’re trying to figure out which room to run into when YangYang makes the decision for you by grabbing your hand and yanking you with him. It’s his room. You can tell by the smell.

Kun is banging on the door like a madman.

“Open up!”

“You gotta be quicker next time.” Yang says smugly with that smirk on his face that makes you want to drop to your knees everytime. He looked specially good today. He was wearing a shirt you bought him last Christmas, with some shorts that made his legs look heaven sent.

“You can’t hide in here forever.” Kun rages.

“Maybe not. But don’t you have a date to go on?”

“I’m gonna kill you.”

“Looking forward to you it.” You breathe out, exhausted from the chase.

You hadn’t even realized the current position you were in. Chest to chest with Yang. You could feel his minty breath breathing on your forehead. Maybe you should have moved, but you didn’t want to.

“Hey.” He whispered.

“Hey.” You responded, barely audible.

“What’s been going on? It’s just us now. You know you can tell me anything.”

You want to lie. You want to say you’ve just been stressed out over school, or work. But that’s not the truth. The truth is, you’re in love with him.

“This is nice.” You decide to speak, bringing yourself closer into his chest.

“It is.” He says to your surprise.

“Huh?”

His hands find themselves right above your ass, and you can practically pass out from the notion.

“Is this why you’re so upset?” He questions, although you can tell he wants to throw up from anxiety as well. He always tried to be tough for you, but you always saw right through it. “Is this what you want?”

Words will not come to you in such a glorious moment. “Maybe if you move your hands down a little.” You finally breathe out.

And he does. And you don’t know what’s about to happen next, but you know whatever is, it will either completely make your life, or destroy it and you.

“Here?”

“There.” You agree.

“What else do you like?”

You point to your neck, and he doesn’t hesitate to attack it with his tounge. How did you both end up here so quickly? Where was the confession moment?

It didn’t matter. The two of you could save that for later. All that mattered right now, was the fact that both of your dreams were finally coming true. One second you were on the door, and the next you were on the bed, ripping each other’s clothes off.

[nevaryadl]

How bout some Liutana for the ship ask?

ngl I don’t ship liutana and I see zero of the appeal behind it and idk if it’s because I’m gay or what. Buuut I also don’t despise it or consider it an outright notp so here I go I guess???

1. Who kissed the other first? Kitana. Liu Kang is a proper and soft gentlemen and has a hard time initiating anything so Kitana just had to roll her eyes and lay a quick and cute little peck on his lips. He still burned seven shades of red and Kitana thought it the cutest thing.

2. What was their first fight about? Liu Kang was being a bit overprotective and was trying to get Kitana to up her security after she became Kahn and Kitana felt a bit stilted about being thought so little off and there was a spat. They yelled, they separated for a few hours to cool down and came back to talk it out and made up.

3. Who sleeps in the couch more often? Kitana loves her bed, so she’s going to Elder Gods be damned sleep on her bed. Liu Kang can sleep anywhere and will train until he’s exhausted so he just passes out where ever. Kitana is sometimes startled where she finds him, but thankfully he has enough mind to fall asleep on the couch if he can’t make it to the bed.

4. Who drinks coffee and who drinks tea? They both prefer tea. Liu Kang prefers sweeter and lighter brews while Kitana prefers more milder brews.

5. Who goes grocery shopping more often? These questions really are not meant for some MK characters. Kitana, she doesn’t want to lose touch with Outworld residents, and also gives her a chance to speak with common folks. Liu Kang comes along to help carry things.

6. Who brings breakfast in bed? The second Liu Kang learns how to cook tasty breakfast food, he is so ready to pamper his wife, especially with how hard she works. Never fails to make her beam first thing in the morning and that look never fails to make Liu Kang’s heart swell.

7. Who sleeps first? They both can fall asleep pretty easy, so whoever lays down first, really.

8. Who watches the other sleeping? They both sleep pretty soundly. On the rare occasion when the other has a bit of a hard time sleeping such as nightmares or such, they both watch the other to get their state of mind back.

9. Who met the parents in law first? SINCE I WILL DIE ON THE HILL THAT RAIDEN IS LIU KANG’S DAD BY BOND, Kitana met Raiden first. He of course, approves quite happily for his son’s happiness and knows that Kitana is a good woman.

10. Who does the laundry? Liu Kang is used to doing chores for the White Lotus, so he does it but Kitana will happily join in and help.

11. Who washes the dishes? Again, Liu Kang because White Lotus chores. Kitana will help by drying and putting away.

12. Who clean up the house? Liu Kang is just a neat and clean gent, so he’ll start and Kitana will happily jump in and help out. Liu Kang hates dusting though so he just sort of shuffles that Kitana’s way.

13. Who washes the car? These two??? With a car????

14. Who brings take outs? Again, not all of these are for all MK characters. But assuming that the Kombat Kids have gotten to him, Liu Kang will try and get Kitana hooked on some Earthrealm junkfood (sucessful in getting her hooked on pizza).

15. Who calls the other to ask if they want something from the street? Please someone tell me what this question means.

16. Who’s more likely to make plans? Kitana is very particular about her schedule so she plans everything. Liu Kang is very used to others planning his day so he just rolls with it.

17. Who dreams about a big wedding? Liu Kang. He wants a big celebration because he’s in love and he wants everyone to know and he’s always wanted a big ceremony for the bright flashiness and sheer novelty of it.

18. Who breaks the cups? Liu Kang, he has some terrible butter fingers after a long day.

19. Who holds the umbrella? Liu Kang does because he’s taller, if Kitana could find a umbrella with a longer shaft, she’ll hold it.

20. Who takes the other to the dance floor? Kitana will. Liu Kang is a bit shy about things other then his training so he needs a nudge to get out there. Does not dance well but damn does he have a good time doing it.

21. Who does the big romantic gestures? They both do, but admittedly Liu Kang does it a little more and with a bit more vigor. He just loves so much and he wants to show it. Admittedly a little goofy but Kitana never ceases to get a little weak in the knees.

22. Who’s more likely to serenade? Neither of them sing terribly well but not terrible either so they don’t feel like singing is a great gesture on either’s part.

23. Who forgets the wet towel in bed? Neither again. Kitana and Liu Kang are a bit too neat for it.

24. Who don’t pick up things when they fell? Neither again. Both of them have too great reflexes for it and even if they do, they have manners enough to pick it up and replace it.

25. Who keeps losing the keys? Liu Kang does, but mostly because he forgets where he put them last (always in his other pants darn it). But he also has agility enough to climb walls and through windows to get in.

26. Who sings the rap part? Neither and you know why.

27. Who pretends to be sad just so the other will cheer them up? Kitana jsut needs the corner of her mouth to dip a little too far and Liu Kang is there with 8( Are you okay???

28. Who wakes up ready for a marathon? Liu Kang is very peppy in the morning, Kitana is a bit jealous.

29. Who buys them tickets for shows? Kitana loves gothic theater, so Liu Kang happily buys her tickets to them.

30. Who choose the movie? Neither of them really watch movies.

31. Who says ‘I love you’ more often? They’re pretty equal in saying it, they love to say it and express themselves.

32. Who keeps waving at people after they got engaged? Liu Kang because he just became trophy husband to one of the most badass women that he knows and holy shit he loves her.

33. Who uses the most ridiculous nicknames for the other? Neither of them really use nicknames, more gentle terms of endearment.

34. Who’s responsible for date nights? Kitana, simply because she has ideas for date nights, also again shes the planner.

35. Who wakes up one day and decides to stay in bed? Kitana, if she can get out of Kahn duty for a day, she’s staying her butt in bed. Liu Kang stays with her because cuddle day! Woot!